Metro Fringe Leftists from page 21 supports the idea that Jews will "live safely in the world, as they generally do today, but never at the expense, or the disposses- sion, of any people, as with the Palestinian people of today." At the same time, she says, actions taken to defeat Israel are for Palestinians to decide and others to support. "Palestinians will determine how we get there Katz Kishawi said. "It's our struggle to continue the long legacy of Jewish movements that have supported self- determination." Katz Kishawi is looking forward to her first visit to Detroit. "We've been warmly embraced within the peace and justice solidarity move- ment and the U.S. Social Forum : ) she said. "We're evoking a lot of curiosity:' She hopes the Assembly will launch "a new movement of Jewish strategizing and thought within a Jewish anti-Zionist per- spective and with a Jewish context." Disputes Among Anti-Zionists But not everyone inside the "movement" is so welcoming. The June 3 "Open Letter" on the Assembly website states that the Assembly "is already receiving criticism based on inaccurate assumptions or apparently dif- ferent political goals." One source of criticism is Henry Herskovitz of Ann Arbor, who leads the weekly Shabbat picketing of Congregation Beth Israel in Ann Arbor, and Michelle Kinnucan of Ann Arbor, who led the pro- tests at the celebration of Israel's 60th anni- versary at the Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit in 2008. In an essay on the "Zionists Out of the Peace Movement" website, they charge that IJAN is a Jewish front for Zionists "to prevent the naming of Jews as responsible for the Jewish-led genocide against the Palestinian people." Herskovitz will be lead- ing a session at the U.S. Social Forum titled "Synagogue Vigils: Six Years of Challenging Judaic Zionism." In a passage that appears to address Herskovitz and Kinnucan, the "Open Letter" states: "IJAN will not align itself with those who either seek to use the struggle against Zionism for their own ends, individual or collective, or who proclaim themselves anti-Zionist, but whose divisive actions serve only to further a Zionist agenda, undermining Palestine solidarity work and anti-Zionist organizing." The picketing of Congregation Beth Israel has been widely condemned by Ann Arbor political and religious leaders, win- ning Herskovitz and his cohorts more igno- miny than support. It appears both sides — Herskovitz and the IJAN — are willing to brand each other with the ultimate 22 June 17 • 2010 insult; each portrays the other as assisting Zionism. Zionist Response But the biggest challenge to the anti-Zionist Jews comes from, not unexpectedly, Jewish Zionists. Ben Cohen, who runs the Z Word blog, an online journal published by the American Jewish Committee, has focused on the Z word — Zionism — for years. He doesn't buy what Katz Kishawi is selling. "Anti-Zionism, whether from Jews or non-Jews, has become indistinguishable from Ben Cohen the call to eliminate the State of Israel," Cohen said from his New York office. "However one might couch anti-Zionist rhetoric in the language of justice and human rights, when you look at the realities of the Middle East and the prevalence of terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, it becomes clear that anti- Zionism means not just eliminating the State of Israel, but the people of Israel, too. "Jewish anti-Zionism is about narcis- sism; about saying the community I was born into is bad, but I'm good. It has very little to do with what the best potential solution is:" Locally, the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee have brought Jewish groups together to inform them of the anti-Zionist conference and prepare a unified statement of support for Zionism. Conference calls have been held that include the gamut of Jewish organiza- tions both liberal and less so — "A to Z" or "Ameinu to ZOA (Zionist Organizaiton of America)" is the way the AJC-Michigan's Kari Alterman describes it — including the Washtenaw Kari Alterman Jewish Federation and Ann Arbor synagogues as well as national organizations like J Street, which has a special cache with pro- gressive groups. Ideas and information are also shared though an Internet discussion group. An action plan for the U.S. Social Forum still is in development. Just as Katz Kishawi sees the Zionists as hijacking the Jewish community and paint- ing a bleak future for Jews, local Jewish leaders see the Jewish anti-Zionists as doing the same. "We reject the Jewish anti-Zionists out of hand': said Alterman, director of the AJC's Bloomfield Township office. "They espouse "All Israel wants is to live securely, in peace, with her neighbors. That is what Zionism is all about." - Robert Cohen, Cohen is coming from Chicago to conduct a workshop on homosexual rights in the Middle East. There are many workshops concerning LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) issues and StandWithUs intends to show how progressive Israel is on these issues, and draw a contrast with its immediate neighbors. "I thought it was important to show another side of the Middle East and Israel': Cohen said. "All that is being shown is the worst of Israel and little about problems in Arab countries. I want to show an Israeli success story so the participants can see the diversity that Israel represents and embraces." Jewish Community Relations Council Fighting Anti- Zionism hate, but talk of themselves as just left- wing, peace-loving activists. We have room in the Jewish community for voices from the far-left to the far-right, but those who reject Zionism — who reject that Jews have rights as a nation — are beyond the pale." "Their definition of Zionism is not our definition," agreed Betsy Kellrnan, ADL Michigan regional director. "Their defini- tion is disturbing and distorted. They reject Jewish power, Jewish self-determination and the Jewish future. We are trying to walk a careful line between challenging them and drawing undue attention to them." Robert Cohen, executive director of the Bloomfield Township-based JCRC, says anti-Zionists, particularly Jewish ones, help perpetuate violence by giving support and joining forces with those who want to destroy Israel. "All Israel wants is to live securely, in peace, with her neighbors': Cohen said. "That is what Zionism is all about. The organizers [of the Assembly] rewrite his- tory, suffer from moral blindness and hold Israel to a standard to which no other nation in the world is held. Israel, as a Jewish state, is a great asset for all of humanity, not just the Jewish people." Brett Cohen Balancing Act Brett Cohen might be one of the loneliest guys at the U.S. Social Forum. As Los Angeles-based StandWithUs' Midwest regional coordinator, he is used to standing up for Israel in less-than friendly situations. Yitzhak Santis, direc- tor of the Middle East Project of the San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council, has seen IJAN Yitzhak Santis members chain them- selves to front doors of the San Francisco Jewish Federation to protest the Second Lebanon War in 2006, a disruption that resulted in legal action. While not statistically significant, he says IJAN members can cause trouble and be used by others who present a real dan- ger to Israel and Jews. Santis sees today's anti-Zionists as "neo-Bundists," clinging to the idea that Jews should wait for the emancipation of all oppressed people and not advocate for themselves as a people. "I would tell IJAN that the weight of his- tory is against them': he said. "That argu- ment was settled after the Holocaust." He pointed to the Russian Jewish assim- ilationist Leo Pinsker, who, in the 1800s, changed his tune after a violent pogrom. He authored Auto Emancipation, argu- ing that Jews can't wait for world revolu- tion, but must have a state like all other peoples. While concerned about actions the IJAN engages in and the ideas they promote to others, Santis pointed to recent polls that show Jewish anti-Zionists are making little headway in the Jewish community. "Any poll of American Jewish life shows that Jews are overwhelmingly support- ive of Israel," he said. "The Jewish anti- Zionists are tiny and fringe. I don't think they have any strength whatsoever:' - For more information, go to United States Social Forum (www.ussf2010.org ), 2010 U.S. Assembly of Jews (www.jewsconfrontapartheid.org ), StandWithUs (www.standwithus.com ), Z Word Blog (blog.z-word.com ). The Jewish News is interested in your experience at either of the two conferences. Send an e-mail message to letters@thejewishnews.com . Put USSF in the subject line.